Chapter 09 – Single-Case Research Designs
Chapter 09
Single-Case Research Designs
1. (p. 282–287) Identify two advantages and two disadvantages of the case study method.
The cited advantages could be any two of the following: (1) a good source of ideas and
hypotheses about behavior; (2) an opportunity for clinical innovation; (3) a method to study
rare phenomena; (4) a way to gather evidence to challenge theoretical assumptions; (5) a way
to gather evidence to provide tentative support for a theory; and (6) a complement to the
nomothetic study of behavior. The cited disadvantages could be any two of the following: (1)
the difficulty of drawing cause-and-effect conclusions; (2) possible sources of bias in
interpretation because the researcher is both participant and observer (observer bias); (3)
possible biases in data collection because of danger of distortion or falsifications in self-
reports; and (4) problem of generalizing from a single individual.
2. (p. 290, 297-299) Describe an advantage and a disadvantage of single-case experimental designs
relative to multiple-groups designs.
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McGraw-Hill Education.
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Copyright © 2015 McGraw-Hill Education. All rights reserved. No reproduction or distribution without the prior written consent of
McGraw-Hill Education.
10. (p. 278) A cognitive psychologist did an intensive descriptive study of a person who had
suffered an unusual brain injury. Which of the following methods did the psychologist most
likely use?
11. (p. 280) The fundamental characteristic of case studies is
